Slashdot Mirror
Best Phone For a Wi-Fi-Only Location?
bendodge writes "I am planning on heading to a university in a remote area with very poor cellular service (the only signal is spotty Verizon voice, no data). However, the entire campus is thoroughly blanketed in Wi-Fi. I am trying to find the best and most economical 'Wi-Fi phone' or else hack one together. Belkin/Netgear sell what is essentially a portable Skype device for $180. These folks recommend outfitting an iPod Touch with a mic and VoIP apps. I am looking for something that can make and receive calls to and from landlines with incoming call notification. What experiences have Slashdot readers had and what would you recommend?"
It may be a bit more expensive, but you could get any android phone and run sipdroid through a SIP provider of your choice, then forward your mobile number to your SIP line. Then you have the advantage that you can seamlessly switch to a mobile network when you go off-campus.
The Belkin WiFi phone sounds like a good idea. The trouble with using an iPod touch would be the battery life with WiFi on. I've tried to browse for an hour so on my iPod Touch and it severely drains the battery. Why get a music player/gaming device if what you really need is a phone? Yup. Get the Belkin phone and subscribe to SkypeOut. I've been pretty satisfied with the call experience even when I've made international calls. Safest way to go IMO.
When I was in a similar situation I simply got a used Symbian phone (in my case a Nokia E60 for some 50 EUR, the most important thing is there to get one with the S60 operating system.). You should be able to use that with Skype for Symbian, or alternatively with fring if your phone is not supported directly. Works well.
The E-series Nokias had the advantage is that they also included a SIP client out of the box so you weren't limited to Skype. Also there is a Python programming environment if you're into that sort of thing.
Unlike the iPod Touch it also has the advantage that it works as a phone when you're somewhere where there actually is cellular reception, or when you go abroad.
As a state gets corrupt, its laws multiply; the most corrupt states have the most numerous laws. (Tacitus, Annales 3:27)
The iPod Touch ships with a microphone on the 3GS and above. It is built into the Apple earphones. You can download Skype for free. I would use that but only if you need an iPod / MP3 player anyway. If you don't then you could pick up a Netbook for the same price that can do a lot more...
The E-series is a great solution, or if you want a more geeky toy, the N900. Prepare to charge the phone daily though, if you keep the WiFi active with Skype online all day.
She: Hey, are you a traitor? Me: No, I'm atheist.
Comes pre-installed with Skype, and it's trivial to set up any other SIP provider. A little on the expensive side perhaps, but you get an excellent Debian-based computer with it.
Get a T-Mobile UMA capable phone. Most of their blackberry line is compatible with UMA calling. UMA makes phone calls over WiFi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlicensed_Mobile_Access
I've had one for almost half a year and have used it for Skype calls quite a bit. VoIP is integrated in a nice way and it's a really great device in general.
The google search term you're looking for is "UDP". That's one industry term for wifi calling. Most blackberries sold for tmobile since 2008 have UDP. An older BB curve (8300?) is less than $100 new and ~$70 used, and is easily unlocked, and readily accepts SIM cards.
Bonus: It also works as a regular cell phone off campus!
moox. for a new generation.
The dedicated Skype or VoIP phones are junk in my experience: hard to configure, unreliable, etc. They usually can't deal with browser-based configuration, limit your choice of VoIP providers, etc.
My recommendation: get an Android phone, Nokia Symbian phone, or an iPod touch. All of them support VoIP, including Skype. The Android phone is the better choice but a bit more expensive; it will also allow you to make phone calls when you travel. Nokia phones with WiFi are cheaper, have better battery life, and also have great browsers, but the UI is bit clunky. The iPod Touch has a good screen and lots of apps, but the only way you can call is with a headset.
(I've used all of them myself.)
Have you considered getting a T-Mobile phone with UMA? It's certainly not the cheapest option with standard mobile pricing of ~$30/mo and ~$5 of various taxes, but you have the added advantage of being able to have a "normal" phone when you're outside of Wi-Fi coverage.
If you're looking for the best value, you can get an Ipevo Wi-Fi Skype phone for ~$140 (a bit less than Netgear/Belkin; works fine). Add $3/mo unlimited US calling and $30 for SkypeIn so landlines can call you, and your total cost is $66/yr... That's tough to beat, and what I would do if I were you. The only downside is that the batteries for these devices may be a challenge to source, and as far as the phone, it's certainly no-frills.
The iPod Touch is not a solution I can recommend due to the lack of on-device microphone -- not to mention its battery on Wi-Fi being rather poor.
Good luck, and way to go on saving some cash! ;)
I recommend any T-Mobile phone that is UMA (Wifi calling) enabled. UMA phones essentially do GSM-over-IP, so when the phone has a wifi signal, your normal phone number encoded on the SIM card will ring, and you can send and receive calls and texts normally. Most T-Mobile BlackBerries, and a few other phones can do this, its listed as Wifi Calling on the spec sheets. You can also take your phone and use it as normal on T-Mobile network, and then have it hop on wifi when you move into range seemlessly.
(UMA is not SIP, it works very well over low bandwidth links, and I've had little trouble with it)
If T-Mobile doesn't work for you, a Symbian or Android phone with a VoIP client using something like sipgate might be a good choice.
This signature was left intentionally blank.
The Dell Streak is an example.
The problem with wifi phones is battery life. Most retail ones suck. Cisco made a cordless wifi sip phone that works rather well, about 100 bucks on the bay. Even the suggestion of an android phone is bad because of this same problem, if not worse.
I have adequate cell phone coverage at my university, but making calls via WiFi (Sipdroid) is just nicer, because the quality is so much better... so it's even relevant for people who don't take their classes at a backwoods "University" at the North Pole... :D
No problems in Belgium either.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Long time T-mobile user, and I do love the UMA. Supported by most Blackberries with TMO branding. WiFi does hurt battery life, but you have a real cell phone that also works anywhere you can get on WiFi, and uses the same number for both cell and wifi calling.
I have to agree with rxmd, the nokia N-series and the E-series have a an amazing sip stack. one more thing, sip has a lot of issues behind a NAT.one more opting is the nokia n900, it has a front facing webcam and has complete Skype integration.
I own a Belkin WIFI Skype phone, I used it as a home phone with Skype in/out and in general it's pretty neat BUT, it drops calls, a lot. It drops calls almost as bad as AT&T.
I have a good solid WIFI system and Skype on my iPhone via my WIFI works without flaw. I do not have WIFI issues.
The Belkin randomly drops calls even when I am within 6 feet of the base and it also randomly locks up and randomly reboots.
If you can put up with that, it's neat. If you require flawless service, skip the Belkin. They have not updated the firmware in it since it was first made available.
If you google the device you will see many other complaining of the same problems.
Disclaimer: That is MY personal experience with the Belkin WIFI Skype phone.
And Dubai is broke... spent all their capital like every day was Christmas.
IF you have the cash I would definitely go for the N900. Both skype and sip work perfectly over wifi (and 3g for that matter) without the need for separate apps. The phone just works identical for Skype, SIP and normal GSM. (Leading to weird situations where you pick up the phone never realizing it's a Skype call, while the other party assumes you're at home behind a PC...)
Haha... um, no religious inferences meant there. They spent their money like they were constantly on holiday.
Another Nokia option to consider - I have the Nokia XpressMusic 5530, while it doesn't have the SIP client, Skype runs great on it, and it's actually a great little budget touchscreen phone. No 3G or GPS (that's why it's cheap), but Google maps works with cell-tower location pretty well, and the screen is just about big enough for usable web browsing. Battery life sucks with wifi on continuously though.
Oh no... it's the future.
My N95 is an amazing SIP device. The native SIP implementation means that a SIP call behaves exactly like a normal call. Just dial the number as usual, just choose internet call instead of voice call. It works over wifi and 3G, almost seamless.
As for NAT, I never had any problems with it. It has NAT transversal support.
As for cheap, you can always buy one second hand.
I'll add my voice to those recommending UMA. (Not just T-mobile, though. It works on Orange, too.)
My Nokia 6301 has it, and I recently spent a week in a cottage in the middle of nowhere.
No mobile signal from Orange, but the cottage had WiFi, and I could make and receive calls using that.
I can believe it; you get some oddball universities that have a campus near nothing much at all.
It's worth noting, the US has a bit more than 7 universities, so more variation (and getting an outlier in student population and remoteness that's extreme enough that this happens is therefore more likely): http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/
Needs to involve checking with the school's IT department to see if they block SIP or Skype traffic, and whether that blocking is within campus or just on the boundary with the internet.
It'd be a shame to buy a nice new android phone and then be limited to the phone in your room because the traffic is blocked. (Or - have to tunnel your SIP traffic in violation of the TOS and get suspended from school)
We are the 198 proof..
Weird name, but works well. Round $130 normally.
http://www.frys.com/product/5859653
Reviewers seem to find the Belkin and Linksys units flaky, but the Ipevo gets good reviews. We have one. Don't use it much, but it's worked everywhere we've tried.
You could also hack together something with an old Windows CE unit (i.e. Dell Axim x51v has the power, but Wifi it a bit weak.)
Or maybe get a tablet PC (Fujitsu U810, Oqo) with a headset, optionally bluetooth. They use a normal OS (Windows, Linux, even Mac OS) not the wacky cut-down ones on those other machines.
Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
1. Belkin WiFi Phone... I got one of these a few years ago. The sound quality is not too bad, but the battery doesn't last terribly long, and more importantly, the sound volume was too quiet. I had to use a headset with it most of the time (and it doesn't support bluetooth).
2. iPod Touch. You need a iPod Touch 3G (the older ones don't support microphones), and then you will have to use a headset. I have one of these, and I use it some of the time. If you want to use it only for outgoing calls, it's fine. If you want to receive incoming calls, then you'd better leave skype running, in the foreground, and make sure the screen doesn't lock (not very realistic). Some of this may be improving with OS 4, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Alternatively, you can get an iPhone, and just use Skype or your favorite app on there, since it has the mike built in.
3. UCCom (Starcom?) WiFi SIP phone. This was like #1, except it wasn't skype specific, it was locked to uhm.. Vonage. It sucked in most every way. The volume was quiet, the battery life was short, and the display and menus were primitive.
4. Sony Mylo 2 - This is billed as a "personal communicator", but it if really a glorified Skype phone. They are pricey new, but you can probably get a used one cheap these days... It can auto-connect to WiFi (of course), and auto-launch skype, and auto-log in (of course). It has a touch-screen, and you can dial normally with Skype-Out. The volume is reasonable, and it comes with a headset as well. The battery life is pretty good, and it has some other apps (like Google talk) as well. Most importantly, it comes with a cradle (or if not, you can buy one separately), so you can put it somewhere and have it charge and wait for calls when you're not using it - like a normal phone. Mo more fishing for USB charging adapters, etc. I have one and it's been hooked up and in constant use for about 2 years. It does a good job of staying signed into Skype and reconnecting WiFi/Skype automatically when there's an issue. Most reviews of the Mylo say it sucks, but that's because they were rating the web browser or other features which, frankly, do suck. (Or because the reviewer didn't know it was WiFi only and wondered why it wouldn't work when there was no signal). As a Skype phone, I haven't seen better. I also take it with me when I go overseas, so I can use it at friend's houses and random places like Starbucks.
Note: First, I am not making an account just to post this (hence the AC), but since I am a heavy user of this type of thing he is asking for, please mod this up to help the OP.
I'll second this. Got my n900 a few months back for the exact same reason as the OP. Now I am connected continously to a number of VOIP and other services receiving calls and starting them without hardly knowing the difference. It all just works.
If there's good competition between mobile networks then it's in their interest to stick up a mast near a remote university. Many people at that university will switch to that network, if it's the only option.
There's 2G coverage almost everywhere, but not necessarily on all networks.
If you do live in an area with no coverage you could get something like this, which claims to give you 2G and 3G signal in your home using your broadband connection. It's a shame that's only for Vodafone (UK), as everyone would benefit if the networks cooperated on this.
There are also temporary GSM towers at major (remote) events (music festivals, races etc).
Ideal for Wifi use, cos they don't work on the cell networks properly
...preferably rooted (HTC G1/Dream is fine), plus Sipdroid.
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
There's a university with a campus, and yet it doesn't have cell phone coverage? I guess it's just that here in Norway there's about 7 universities, obviously all with coverage. I don't even recall hearing of a college that didn't have it. This sounds like more of a remote outpost than a university to me, but kudos for an overinflated name.
Actually, the word "university" has slightly different meaning around the world. You pointed out Norway and over there the term is protected by law. No one can start their own university, that's why there aren't that many of them. The ones that exists also tend to be quite large.
In the U.S. there is a difference between private and state universities, compared to Norway which only have the equivalence of state universities. Someone may fund their own relatively small private university in a remote location, that would be impossible in Norway due to the law.
I agree, I have an E65 and it's fantastic. Lots of connectivity options (Wifi, Bluetooth, 3G) and it's rather cheap as well these days.
Dilbert RSS feed
Another metoo here - the way N900 handles Skype and VOIP is very nice.
But seriously, be aware of the battery drain. N900 lasts for a day with WiFi on and with moderate Skype use (always signed in, max. ~2h talktime). And what's annoying it still can't use all the power-saving thingies in WiFi with certain access points so you might have a surprise in some locations with hot phone draining the battery in full speed. The good thing is that it still gets fixes and matures and wifi-related bugs are still being closed.
And it is still quite expensive. If the only requirement was the wifi and SIP/Skype I would definitely google around for the Nokia E-series (S60 3rd edition, do not bother with older ones) - they tend to have good battery life and Skype and VOIP works - and you don't get the power drain of the N900's large touchscreen and Linux kernel which frankly isn't as mature on the N900 as the Symbian equivelant is regarding to power management.
See http://nokiaexperts.com/tmobile-nokia-e73-mode-uma-wifi-calling-killer-functionality/ for an example - UMA is a way of having 'standard cellular voice' (GSM based) delivered over WiFi - it's a bit like VoIP in that your GSM voice call goes over IP, but unlike VoIP in that it is not using SIP or Skype, and instead you roam between WiFi and GSM areas seamlessly (useful when off campus).
UMA WiFi phones are mostly for people who go between WiFi and GSM - one huge advantage is that the phone can automatically turn off the radio it's not using i.e. turn off GSM when WiFi is used. This saves a lot of battery life. Another big advantage is that you have one phone number and one phone service across GSM and WiFi, which is useful when you are off campus, and of course GSM mode will use less battery. T-Mobile offer this in the US, see link above. http://www.umatoday.com/ has general info.
UMA phones are thin on the ground but it's a useful feature - quite a few Blackberries support this. If you don't need UMA, almost any Nokia E-series phone with Symbian S60 would be fine. The Nokia phones are not the highest tech but they are very reliable, which is good if this is your only phone on campus - the E71 also includes GPS and other nice things, and I got it free with a great $40/month package. The N-series are more consumer oriented and also run Symbian, apart from the N900 which is Maemo.
Another vote for the Nokia (in my case E71). I wouldn't use the mobile Skype app as last time I checked they charged for pure VoIP calls. However you can use any SIP provider and there are numerous VoIP apps. Fring is worth checking out, does things like Skype, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, SIP and Twitter all in one go. I used to use Gizmo5 until it was bought out by Google and they withdrew it from the public. Truphone is also not bad, but voice calls only.
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
get a second hand nokia e71. do not insert sim card. download skype app from ovi store. log in with your skype id. pay some money to skype to get credit. it works perfectly like a phone, just that it works only over wifi.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
And that's the problem there. That only applies to the 32 Gb or better model. The 8 Gb is really second generation, and Apple curiously doesn't have a 16 Gb flash model.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
I refer to the Nokia VOIP compatibility list a lot for times like these, and the URL that has always worked is (I hope the pages works again, soon):
VoIP support in Nokia devices - Forum Nokia Wiki
http://www.forum.nokia.com/main/resources/technologies/voice_over_IP/voip_support_in_nokia_devices.html
For clients, family, & friends, I always pointed out any Nokia phone on that list handled SIP natively. However it seems today Nokia is updating their site, and that URL is unavailable. I really hope the page comes back!
My own 'ancient' N95 with a 2nd forward-facing camera (needs Fring, but then I'm making skype-compatible video calls) does pretty everything the recent 2 generations of iPhone do. Only the newer iPhone shoots in higher resolution is all. But multitasking, SIP, tethering, and A2DP bluetooth (wireless phone/music headset), I've been enjoying all that stuff for several years earlier than Apple said I could.
My favorite app is SportTracker, which allows voice-enabled AGPS, or sans-data-plan then GPS navigation (that's 2 map apps, multitasking nicely). I can ride my bike, listen to tunes, a computer lady tells me when to turn, the music fades out softly for incoming-headset SIP calls. And I can upload my trip to Nokia's SportsTracker server, for social networking/exercise, w/ Gmaps, etc. Nokia is even coming out with a 15-20 euro bike-powered-charger; I can't wait. GPS wants juice. The N79 even records Polar heart tracking data, and uploads it along with any auto-geo-tagged MP3 playlist to SportsTracker.
The N900 _IS_ a linux computer, and I'll upgrade to it, or its successor, once my N95 dies, but so far, so very good. Nokia does great with software updates too; (over the ownership of this device, Nokia has impressed me this way; it is so much better than when it was new)
You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
Assuming that you will have a laptop you could use a majicJack. I know it seems gimmicky but based on your requirements it is a perfect application. I think it would be cheaper as well if all you have to buy is the MJ. Just a thought...
This setup works flawlessly in most settings.
Pros:
Works like a normal cellphone with dialing options etc.
Use your phone lists etc
Synchronizes with PC apps
Good range
Cons:
Have to preconfigure all hotspots.
Will not hop between hotspots during same conversation
Not intuitive network configuration. Phone jumps to 3G unless you dig down to the setting to force it to wifi only.
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
I am looking for something that can make and receive calls to and from landlines with incoming call notification.
You'll have problems tunneling thru the marketing, which in the telecom industry is slathered on very thickly with a spatula, kind of like paint on a Chinese made machine tool. A WIFI phone? Oh you mean a Skype phone. Or do you mean UMA or UBA or whatever the heck? Its more formally known as a confuse-opoly, where the market colludes to confuse the customers into being ripped off. Be careful, those guys aren't much above used car salesmen when it comes to ethics and marketing.
That said:
I've bought stuff from voipsupply and they're a reputable dealer. They have an entire freaking category for WIFI sip phones, I'm sure you'll like one of them. Eventually I'll buy one of them for my asterisk PBX at home. I've been saying that for at least half a decade now, but I will eventually buy one, I promise.
http://www.voipsupply.com/ip-phones/wi-fi
And the upstream SIP provider my asterisk PBX connects to is voicepulse. I would assume any "SIP wifi phone" could connect to voicepulse.
http://voicepulse.com/
Voicepulse's antifraud techniques are a bit of a pain to deal with, even a simple credit card change requires signed FAXes, etc. And their porting process required documentation reminded me of when I got my passport. Their dumbed down residential service did not seem to meet my needs, so I signed up as a "small business", where they just give me SIP trunks and otherwise leave me alone, which is exactly what I wanted. Also, speaking of SIP, those bastards lured me in by providing IAX which worked great over my NAT and firewall, and then promptly discontinued IAX and forced conversion to SIP which is a huge pain to NAT and firewall. The main (only?) reason I chose them over their competitors was IAX support, so I was quite pissed off. Other than that, I have nothing else to complain about, they're a reliable provider, it "just works", etc. The only reason I didn't dump them like a hot potato when they dropped IAX was their service has been reliable. God help me if I so much as have the smallest excuse I'm off to an IAX provider. But so far so good.
One big problem is my "pay as you go" cellphone provider nickel and dimes me, but it ends up only being about $10/month long term average. So, replacing my cellphone with a decent industrial/commercial grade wifi sip phone, costs around 2 or 3 years of cellphone service. So its hard to justify, except in the original poster's situation (or mine) where there is poor cell service at home. Also quite frankly, if I'm at home, I have my wired and cordless SIP phones, and if I'm at work I have work phones, and if I'm in my car I'm not supposed to be talking, and most places I go I'm not supposed to be talking on the phone (movie theater, etc) so paying hundreds of dollars to add another 9 to 99.9% coverage is a total waste for me.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
If you're really after low cost after about $200 use a landline. $24/month * 9 months. The phone is under $10 in the drug store electronics isle
-- Programming with boost is like building a house with lego. It's a cool but I wouldn't want to live in it
They worked fairly well. An iPod Touch would be cool, but you'd have to keep the Skype (or whatever VOIP app) up all the time. (Until they are able to possibly change it for the new iOS4.)
Good luck with it.
I would go with a Verizon Droid or Storm2 and a femtocell. Reason is this, your not going to be using it in the class room or buildings for that matter. Your spotty coverage by Verizon should be good enough out doors as you walk to building to building so you can Skype call anyone you need to call back. The primary place your going to be depending on it is in your dorm room and that is where a femtocell would come real handy and you probably can charge your dorm mates who have Verizon for it's use. Great coverage in the dorm room, workable around campus and you have a fully working cellphone when your in town.
Before "wifi cellphones", you had "wifi telephones" for VOIP dialing or connecting to a PBX
They are cheap and you can get them off of ebay for 50-70usd a piece. I have one laying around I could send you as I'm not using it anymore (my wet dream was a wifi cellphone with API - and have this now with Android. Rendering my Wif-connecting Linksys redundant.)
But I strongly advise you to invest a bit more and get the joys of an Android phone and open alot of experimenting possibilities; those prices are dropping as they're already teasing consumers with a 3rd wave of Android phones.
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
I have an E71 which is excellent as a *phone* and a gateway for tethering a laptop - 3G and quad band GSM, wifi and bluetooth... as another poster says, it has native SIP client, you can run fring to access Skype as well as IM services.
I recommend installing Opera Mini because the standard web browser is a bit basic - but it is functional.
The built-in GPS is v useful - free mapping from Nokia; I quite like the Sportstracker app too. There's some fun games too.
Accessories such as car chargers are freely available too.
I would consider the n900 but it's quite chunky and you will need to charge it up a lot more, you need to be a fairly serious geek, but if you are then its incomparable as a handheld computer unless you jailbreak the Motorola Droid/Milestone with its hardware keyboard.
If you can, get a Nokia E72 unlocked. If you can't get the E72, get any E series Nokia phone (I have E71).
Reason for recommendation:
* WiFi roaming is painless
* 1500mAh battery: WiFi *drains* battery. You absolutely need the phone with largest battery pack or you're looking at charging it twice a day. A large screen android/iPhone is fun for a week till you get tired of looking at battery bars. Nokia will last whole 3 days on GSM and will get you through the day on WiFi.
* Integrated SIP with same dialing/receiving experience as a GSM call
* VoIP apps: Pretty much every VoIP app is available including Fring, Talkonaut and Skype apart from integrated SIP
* Excellent sound quality
Cons:
* Small screen by today's standards (you get battery life in return) ......)
* Abysmal inbuilt browser (you can have Opera Mobile and Opera Mini instead)
* It's not hip in US (however, if you want nerd points it'll score many - run wordpress on your phone with downloadable port of Apache2, MySQL4 and PHP5 - no kidding)
* Custom development is painful, but you get everything and the kitchen sink to write apps for the device (Python, Java, C++,
* No touchscreen
- mritunjai
"I am planning on heading to a university ...
(deleted plan to spend hundreds of dollars to talk on the phone)
... what would you recommend?"
My other post gave a technical recommendation to answer your exact question.
My "real" recommendation is your priorities are totally screwed up. Hundreds of dollars equals about a hundred six-packs of tolerable beer or bottles of cheap booze, and college girls like parties with alcohol. Hundreds of dollars equals around a hundred or so keg parties (you know, a plastic cup costs $5, and the keg is over there surrounded by lonely college girls). Trust me that "traditional dating" of college girls is somewhat cheaper than post-college girls, so hundreds of dollars equals at least dozens of traditional movie and dinner dates. Hundreds of dollars equals some nice wardrobe additions, and college girls like a well dressed stylish man (but don't go all overboard). Hundreds of dollars would easily pay for a year long gym membership, and college girls like a healthy looking guy and they like to talk to guys at the gym. You may notice a common theme to my numerous examples of better ways to spend your money. Now decades later, you can reminisce about all the fun you had with your numerous girlfriends in those wild and crazy college years, or you can have an obsolete broken phone with a dead battery in a box in the basement, your choice... And if you're trying to meet guys, my advice stays the same, with different pronoun genders or whatever.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
IF you have the cash I would definitely go for the N900.
Or, since the submitter wanted "most economical", you could get an N800 or N810 for much less off fleabay etc. A bit bigger, but much better battery life than the N900. (no GSM/3G) Does skype and SIP very well.
I'm going to suggest the ultra low tech solution and suggest a good old fashion land line. With a modern cordless you can go your dorm's floor and perhaps one above and bellow with ease with it. The problem is if you use a call over WiFi at a university, you will have to stay where you are for the duration of the call. I had the same issue two or three years ago. The university had just a series of repeaters / access points with same SSID / Chanel lined up, and if more than one was in range (as they usually are to provide decent coverage) my wireless device would hop between the access points. Fine for web browsing, but using any service such as VOIP would result in the call disconnection each time it "hopped" between AP's.
I have a 32GB ipod touch with skype. I bought the skypeIn service which gives me a real landline number. When people call that number, I pay a per minute charge. I buy time in $25 increments. I would say on a busy month, I go through that unit of credit.
Since it serves as a second phone, I often keep the ipod docked to my laptop which is plugged into a wall scocket. Battery life is an issue, but overall I like my solution. I wish I could get 3G service for the iPod.
Full pocket-sized computer running linux (Maemo comes pre-installed, upgradeable to MeeGo... and Android 2,2 runs beauifullly on it, too). It does everything a laptop computer does - I think you can even get the Gimp running on it. Dell Small Business was selling it for $369 last week (no plans, no locks,etc.), so you can bring it to other countries, buy a local SIM card and you're good to go. More info at Engadget.
Samsung Omnia i910 (might be a new version out by now). Mine rocks. The wifi in it is top notch.
The new iOS 4.0 software allows the iPod touch to stay connected to WiFi even when sleeping just as the iPhone stays connected to 3G. This was done because of the "muti-tasking" included in the latest build. I believe Skype has already released an update to run in the "background" on the iOS 4.0 software or will be releasing it soon.
The "daddy model" 5800XM would probably be a better choice, as it has 3g, GPS, bigger screen and front camera, as well as bundled 8GB memory card, while not costing much more then 5530 due to its age.
And you can make video calls with it if that's your thing via skype on it (use fring to log into your skype account and you can place skype video calls through fring - the only thing that native skype client doesn't yet support)
I have an E71 with S60 and Skype on it works great. Before skype was supported on it I tried fring, the chat was good but the VOIP was laggy, as if the phone couldn't handle it. +1 for E-Series
There may be plenty of reasons not to get an Apple device, but the reasons you mention aren't them.
Not only can and does Skype run on iP* devices (and of course it isn't a telephony application), but it can now run in the background too!
Why not get a used 3G iphone? They are dirt cheap now...unlock it, put a prepaid AT&T card in it if you so desire, or just put skype on it if you want to use WiFi only.
For reasons I do not understand using WiFi takes a lot more juice than using the cellular network. While many small devices, like a cell phone or iPod touch can do SIP, they get really hot and burn battery really fast. I would not consider any of them usable as a general purpose solution if you want reasonable talk time.
I don't know much about dedicated WiFi phones, there are some out there and they may be good choices. However, due to the battery issue, perhaps an iPad? The larger form factor provides a much larger battery. The same SIP apps that work on the Touch will work on the iPad. You might like it for other reasons too. :)
I'm fairly certain Verizon picked up a lot of student customers when they added a cell site to one of the Barton Hall towers at Cornell University.
VZW, ATT, and T-Mo all worked to some degree, but coverage was spotty until VZW put that tower down a few years ago. (However, since then, AT&T has increased coverage a lot too, and the only place I've seen a coverage delta is in Lynah Rink - metal-roof-and-brick-wall building, but effectively adjacent to Verizon's site.)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Slightly Offtopic but similar problem for a buddy of mine.
Has anyone had to attempt this when the Internet connection was a DirectWay (Satellite) connection? My view is that the lag is simply too much to get anything to work but he's getting desperate to get something to work. He's looking into an AT&T microcell at the moment but I'd figure the same issues would come up. Ideally I'd like to hook him up with a SIP client on his phone of choice but the same issue concerns me.
I'm on my second T-Mobile Blackberry (Bold 9700) that has this capability, and they work great for WiFi calling. I work out of my basement, and there weren't a lot of options for cell reception. I don't subscribe to their WiFi calling, which means calls use my minutes, but they have a $10/mo plan for unlimited calls over WiFi.
Before you make ANY decision, it would be prudent to speak directly to the school's computer services department to make sure that your device will be able to use wifi there. Most schools don't just throw up a mesh of hotspots with a simple password. Some require all sorts of authentication procedures, some disallow all devices except xxxxxx, etc, etc. At my undergrad years ago when stylus handhelds were all the rage, I inquired about setting one up on their wireless network. The answer: not supported. Nowadays, and especially at a small school, they may be more willing to work with you. Just sayin', don't buy anything until you're sure that you can use it there.
Michigan Tech. Near lake superior in the Great White north wastelands that is known as the UP around these parts.
Awesome college in the middle of nowhere. Just bring your tuke, a taste for pasties, and get used to ending every sentence with eh?
Yes, I'm a hoser knob troll... Take off eh?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
You'd need a machine with a predictable IP address to run your asterisk server on. There are bunches of Voip providers who can provide you with a landline number, so you just need to shop the rate plans to see if you can find one that's right for you. If you only call other parties on the IP network and don't need a landline number you can skip the voip provider completely and do all your calling for free. You can also use multiple voip providers and have asterisk use a least cost routing table to route your call through the least expensive provider. This can include setting up enum database lookups through Enum so that if a landline you're calling has a published IP address, it's originated as a free data call to that person's IP address.
If you have access to a landline near an ethernet port, you can purchase a SIP gateway device to connect the phone line to your asterisk server. That would allow you to use your landline number instead of one from a voip provider and you'd be able to skip a voip provider completely if you wanted to use your landline's long distance plan. Or you could figure the landline in to your least cost calling plan, using it only to make local and 800 number calls. You can play a number of nifty games with call routing if you hook up to the phone network this way.
Asterisk is a pretty complicated beast, but it gives you tremendous flexibility and you learn a lot about the phone system setting a server up.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
You could get a google voice number, and then do the SIPgate/sipsorcery thing with PBX.org. I have my wife set up with that now, and she uses it all the time while she's deployed. She has Fring set up on her ipod touch, and has the sip portion set up with pbx.org setting, the call quality is great. If you're with Verizon, then get an android phone and download sipdroid. Have the setting with google voice to ring your sipgate number, and you'll be all set. http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ae8glDUXDsh9ZGR2eG43cjRfMzNkOTM4ZjNjeA&hl=en (how to set up google voice with sipgate/sipsorcery)
Meetoo again (not to confuse with meego).
That thing about treating skype / google talk (voice/video) / SIP / Cell phone all in the same way is just awesome!
You'll catch yourself walking on the streets while talking to a friend overseas via gtalk! Wife or HDSPA/3G are great... well.. and apart from all that.. it is linux, not symbian nor android (no, android is not linux.. not anymore!)!!
Gen2 with the apple microphone headphones works just fine, its just that the headphones it SHIPS with don't include the microphone.
(Owner of a Gen2 iPod touch)
Test your net with Netalyzr
What makes this a troll? Now I have a gaming system, plus wifi phone, plus movie player/music player. If I have an older model, I can homebrew the bitch and have TONs more features. It's just like an iPhone, without a touch screen, and usable gaming controls. And it had a standard USB port so you could very likely hack it to work with other hardware. You're not doing that with the iPhone.
Seriously, do some research. While I *HATE* Sony with a passion, the PSP was a pretty damned good device, and capability-wise it could stomp the iPhone as a wifi phone.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
The E-series are nice but that is only a good choice if he is on AT&T.
T-Mobile's 3g band in the US usually isn't supported on unlocked Nokia's and only AT&T and TMobile use GSM in the states.
Since he mentioned Verizon coverage I would guess he is in the US. The mobile market in the US can be a bit complex to say the least.
A lot will depend what carrier this person is using. Since he is a student he may be on a family plan with his folks so switching to AT&T and getting a smartphone data plan may not be an option for him at this time.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I got a 5800 Xpress Music for $250, and it works great: WiFi calls using skype/fring work almost flawlessly (ofc depends on your internet connection) Also, GPS with free OVI maps & navigation for life makes the phone a sweet deal.
I work at a university and we've tried to set up the same things on our wifi network. The problem is that in order to use our wifi, you have to log in via a web browser first. Additionally, whenever the device sleeps, it releases the dhcp ip, so when it awakes, you have to redo this process unless you can get on a whitelist. Our departmental devices can, but I doubt they'd allow a student this convenience. You may wish to wait until you get to college and see how the network functions before buying something.
For wifi calling access... a Blackberry with UMA is by far your best bet. Ive tried a lot of the VoiP apps on other phones and none have really done well.
Not any more in the US. They took away the $10/mo unlimited UMA addon when they changed to Even More and EM/Plus plans. Old plans are grandfathered. Now for new subscribers all UMA minutes come out of the regular minute buckets.
I have a Nokia 6301. Its very small and just a phone (it can email and do very limited web surfing.. although its not pretty). It does hop onto wifi and make calls on wifi when it can. Works well, I have t-mobile, I think they call it "hot spot" calling or some such thing.
I live WAY out in the country. We have NO cell service at home. But we have broadband and a wifi router. Many of the Nokia phones work fine with wifi.
My wife and I each have Nokia 6301b phones and they work great at home through the wifi.
Just be sure to turn on your QOS so that when the kids are watching Hulu they don't hog all your bandwidth.
Break the sound barrier - bring the noise.
Since you said that you could get a Verizon signal sometimes, why not get a phone that can use it? otherwise you have nothing when you leave campus. But no point in getting an expense Verizon contract, either Verizon prepaid, or prolly better is Pageplus, which allows activation of any VZW phone, runs on the Verizon network but offers rates as low as $3/month (actually $10 for 120 days). Then use Skype for most usage, when you have wifi, but use Google voice to manage the merging of your Skype number and your VZW/PPC number, by giving a single number that rings both services.
You'll want to find a decent Verizon phone that can do wifi/Skype, perhaps a WM phone like the Diamond, Touch Pro, Treo Pro or Touch Pro 2, or an Android phone might be better (but check www.howardforums.com in the Pageplus forum to see which have been successfully activated on PPC).
Final note is that for your room, you might consider either a femtocell to give you a cell signal, or MagicJack, again with GoogleVoice, both create phone service from an Internet connection.
I am not sure if you would share a usb port on you PC or not, I have a Gigaset S450 [DECT]and Siemens M34 USB stick, which works wonderfully with the Skype, and you can use it for VoIP and landline calls, sw has a perfect intergration with skype and your address book, even checks your email and delivers a notification on your handset. I lost track of the Gigaset development, I know that they do stand-alone versions of those phones now that allow to use Skype or SIP provider of your choice. Gigaset is the best phone system I have ever used with good industrial design and excellent features, I do not understand why is it not that widely available here in the US.
... consider a used iPhone. It already has the proper mic/speaker setup. (And a camera.) Now that the iPhone 4 is out there should be a nice supply of used iPhones out there.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
I would absolutely not purchase anything without seeing how it works on campus first. There should be enough people around with enough different options to get a feel for things over the first couple of weeks (or less). My advice prior to that (and afterwards) is to get a Google Voice number and use that as your number - that way you can have it forward to whatever number you end up with, get text messages via email, etc. If you decide long-term to move away from GV you can do so after you have a phone that works.
I use UMA on my Blackberry regularly, but at least on my device I've seen times where it seems like it'll refuse to connect via UMA until it's seen a regular mobile signal. That may just be me (there are people using it internationally where they're definitely not getting a T-Mobile USA signal), but it's something to be aware of. There are other things that may keep it from working as well - UMA requires TCP connections on ports 500 and 4500, so if those are blocked it'll cause problems. There's a variety of information available from a few years ago when UMA first showed up about what needs to be open for it to function.
fencepost
just a little off
I've been using a UMA enabled Nokia 6086 for years. My carrier, Cincinnati Bell, just charges $10/month for the service (on top of the usual $30/mo). The sound quality is indistinguishable. And UMA calls count as local calls (which are unlimited minutes to any other Cincinnati Bell phone). In other words, if I'm in France and make a UMA call to my wife in Japan, and we are both using UMA, it's counts as a local Cincinnati USA call. No additional charges. 1 caveat - you may have to enter a WEP key, which is a pain. But the phone stores that access point. Oh, and the phone acts as a wifi detector. All with a cheap, fairly obsolete phone.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
http://www.voipsupply.com/ip-phones/wi-fi
A basic SIP phone that is WiFi only ... nothing more, nothing less.
I've gotten to the point where I completely avoid anything with their name on it, as it's almost universally crap. From car power adapters for various devices that don't provide power, to USB hubs that refuse to work, I've had bad luck with it all. Save yourself some trouble and just avoid them.
... if he reverted to using smoke signals - you can get a good signal fire going with surplus college newspapers for free. Dude, come on. He didn't come right out and say it, but clearly the desired solution is a MOBILE phone.
Based on "Verizon" I'm assuming he's in the US. We have literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of universities here in the States. While the vast majority of the larger ones are situated in or very near cities, there's a huge number of small "Liberal Arts Universities" many of which are in run in rural, almost estate like, scenarios. Think along the lines of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men Comics, but larger (And with less super-powers, state of the art jets, massive AI systems, or Danger Rooms). Usually the schools have somewhere between one and five thousand students, and they're situated within a few miles of a small "University Town" that exists more or less totally to support the school.
It doesn't surprise me at all to hear that some of these schools don't have much cell coverage. Often even the supporting town is little more than a collection of restaurants, bars, and shops that specialize in things college students may want. It may or may not have much coverage itself.
I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
Not many handsets support it now. I think only some Blackberry models, but other handsets that support this are available on eBay.
Once the handset connects via WiFi, it makes and receives calls just like a normal cellphone. The only difficulty is if the WiFi network has some kind of click-through agreement. The phones support WEP, WPA, WPA2.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
I agree with the E Series. My gf has an E75, it charges really quick and the battery last way longer than the iPhone. As any other phone, you'll have a steep learning curve at the beginning but it's a really nice device once you get used to its options.
He doesn't have AT&T cell service available, so WiFi is the only option. And even with iOS 4, you can't multitask on a 3G. Meaning that when the screen is off, Skype's not running. Meaning that you can't receive calls. So this might work if you call other people, but they never call you. Otherwise... not so much.
... you need to be careful. Neither the 3G nor original iPhone will multitask, even with iOS 4 installed (in the case of the original iPhone, I don't think you can even install it). And if it doesn't multitask, you can't receive calls (Skype won't continue running when the screen is shut down). You would need at least a 3GS, and those are neither as plentiful nor as cheap as the earlier phones, as they're all only about a year old... only the most rabid iPhoneboys are dumping their 3GSs.
Quite funny that every single one of his reasons was blatantly false.
I'd look into a Blackberry on TMO, they have their UMA service which basically gives you GSM over wifi.
The N900 is basically a commercially available development model. I wouldn't recommend buying it unless you're willing to go hack around in the terminal a little and maybe do some programming on your own; if you think that the terminal is where you catch your flight, you'll probably be happier with an iPhone or Android or something, honestly.
On the other hand, if you're willing to do some hacking, the benefits can be enormous. I've got fucking AdblockPro running on my N900's browser - MicroB is just a specialized version of Firefox, so the plugin works. It doesn't Just Work (tm), but if you mess around with permissions enough it works eventually. ABP is kind of slow on a mobile computer (I think it relies heavily on regexes or something), but it's nowhere near as slow as downloading all those goddamn ads.
The biggest problem I see is that the service providers are requiring a data plan on all capable phones whether you want it or not. Even with a prepaid GSM phone I hear the users receive a text message informing them that a plan is mandatory. See - http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/MEdia-Net/Data-plans-on-smartphones-mandatory-as-of-Sept-6/m-p/1836215 for an example of att
Second the motion for N800 series. We have an original N800 on which we've made Skype calls from internet cafes all over the place.
Have an Android phone? I think there are SIP clients for Android as well.
Don't have either, just want something that's a WIFI SIP phone? Check out VoipSupply.com. They have a WIFI phone section. I'd either go cheap with the QuickPhones GA-342 or spend a little more for the Hitachi IP3000.
You'll need a SIP VOIP service. Check out Voip-Info.
Of course, test before you commit to something! There are free "toll-free-only" sip providers, which will allow you to test to see if it really works.
--Pathway
Old 1st gen iPhones are for sale on ebay cheap.
Buy one cheaply and use it as a Skype in/out device, that will work nicely. No need to have cell phone service on it with WIFI everywhere.
Or perhaps install the VOIP app of your choosing. Either way..
Very interesting read. I'm trying out a iphone/sipgate/sipsorcery/google voice combo now. Thanks!
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/VOIP+Phones+Reviews
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
Chanel 2010&Chanel bags show&designer Chanel&Chanel fashion&Chanel collention&Chanel watche&Chanel purse Chanel 2010&chanel bags show
So, "commanding a premium" means they're not cheap, right? I think that's what I said. Although I will admit that I was wrong about only the rabid fanboys dumping their 3GSs :) ... so I guess they are at least plentiful. I've got a 3G and I'm going to be dumping that as soon as the crush dies down a little, so I'm not immune either.
But my original point remains - buying a used 3GS is not necessarily going to be all that cheap.
If you can stand WinMo the built in Internet Calling works fairly* well.
Its meant to be deployed as a whole-of-enterprisey customization, but you can do it with a bit of DIY (works on my HTC Diamond). You set up the config file with your SIP provider details and then flick on "Use Internet Calling: When Available". This works pretty much transparently, you dial using the normal phone shit and it goes out over SIP if in range.
If you want to receive calls you'll have to configure your phone to be connected to WiFi on standby, which will kill your battery. You may also want to install a better (or stock) wifi management utility if your branded one is a bit shit.
Not sure on complex dial plans, mine was just "everything via voip if available".
3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
Android users in Canada use SIPdroid and ???
(Google Voice no worky here... not really, anyway) //noob, but very interested